New bids come with higher cost

District 86 Board reviews options on summer projects

Members of the Hinsdale High School District 86 Board who hoped rebidding work on summer projects would lead to savings were disappointed by some of the results.

The board on Monday decided to delay awarding the contracts that went up a total of more than $96,000.

Board members said they want to spend the next couple of weeks scrutinizing the new numbers, and learn more about the reasons behind why some projects increased in cost.

Bids for such projects as a new concession stand at Hinsdale Central High School and for a trainers' room at Hinsdale South High School came in higher than the original bids.

The new bid for the trainers' room came in at $222,150, about $13,755 over the original bid. The bid for the concession stand went up from about $136,000 to about $186,000.

A batting cage came in at $10,000 more than previously though the scope of the work didn't increase, noted board member Richard Skoda.

"The batting cage went up $10,000. How do you account for that?" he asked Rick Young of the district's architectural firm Perkins + Will.

Young said there may be several reasons for increases in bids. In the case of the batting cage, he said the contractor, who also bid the project previously, had already received the batting cage.

"There was a miscommunication," Young said. "He didn't cancel the contract for the batting cage. It was shipped so he might be trying to cover his costs for shipping and storing it."

Board member Victor Casini said if the project were being done at his house "I'd tell him to eat (the cost of) that batting cage."

He suggested that the district could go with another contractor, but board member Michael Kuhn said it isn't that simple.

"We can dismiss the bid altogether, but we can't just take the next lowest bid," he said.

Other reasons Young said that some projects may have increased in cost is because the scope of the work changed, or contractors discovered issues that they had not noticed previously. In the case of the trainers' room, Young said the contractor noticed the plumbing work would be more difficult because the room is on a slab.

Young said if the district had accepted the first bid the contractor would have had to assume the extra cost of doing the plumbing work.

Young also said costs may be higher because contractors may have already filled their work schedules.

"Contractors are a little more busy," he said. "They're less hungry for work."

Casini said he'd like Perkins + Will to prepare a spread sheet listing each project, the original and second bids, the cost difference between the bids, and the reasons for the cost differences.

"A little more work needs to be done to be sure we're doing the right thing here," he said.

Board member Jennifer Planson questioned how long the new bids would be valid. Young said the bids are good for 60 days.